


Water Tonic

by FadingThroughNebulae



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Angst and Tragedy, Companionship, Crack Pairing, Demyx needs a hug, F/M, Finding comfort, Gen, Ignoring how Demyx rejoins the True Organization, Late Night Writing, Light Romance, Not Canon Compliant, Pre-Kingdom Hearts III, Romance isn't the central focus, Self-Indulgent, Speculation on Demyx's backstory, Temporary Character Death, trigger warning - drowning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-20
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2021-02-25 00:09:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22326712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FadingThroughNebulae/pseuds/FadingThroughNebulae
Summary: How much will Demyx's magic damage his heart?
Relationships: Aqua/Demyx (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 5





	1. First Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lawyerdonut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lawyerdonut/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Drowning and loss of loved ones as experienced by the MC. Not described in great/graphic detail, but if you are sensitive to this subject matter, please skip this fiction.

Demyx once lived in a world of sand, with resources becoming more sparse the further inland one drifted, far away from the river that cut through sets of massive green hills. Unaware of worlds outside his own, he grew up content in the quaint village on the outskirts of the river, his parents raising him in their humble home. The first time he visited the natural fountain spring at the edge of the tranquil town with his father, an animal herder, Demyx discovered something that altered his way of being from that day forward. The village people prized the spring, as it provided one of the only other water aside from the river, cool to the taste under the scorching sun. When Demyx leaned in to drink from the fountain with cupped hands at the encouragement of his father, the gushing stream leapt up to his lips and vaulted over his shoulder, his hands remaining dry. The water continued this act every time the young boy reached to touch it, and his father failed to witness such a marvel as he lead his sheep to the pool beneath the spring pooling over the rocks, imploring them quench their own thirst.

Shortly thereafter, Demyx wandered away from the village, and his parents anxiously searched for him. They later found him playing in the river bank, mud coating his face. Crystal jets shot out around him, arching high above his little blonde head. He squealed, awe and excitement bubbling up inside him while the sun caught upon the water as it fell. He clapped his hands as his feet splashed in the shallows, tiny rainbows surrounding him. His parents held back as they watched him, his mother's face expressing dread before she ran out and gathered him up in her arms. His father however, calmed her worries and expressing great amazement, releasing a deep laugh as he hauled his son up onto his shoulder. As Demyx aged and slowly began to master his ability, his parents recognized more just how much it completed their son. This natural element complemented him, and he it, water and flesh uniting in perfect balance.

The others in the village, instead of fearing Demyx's unique talents and shunning him along with his family, embraced him. Viewing a young man with control over water and later the materialization of it as a gift, they implored him to share his skill with the rest of them. Whenever his parents and neighbors implored, Demyx performed magic tricks, spinning small spouts around his limbs and through the air. Just before his birthday, the leaders of the little community selected him as one of the entertainers at a festival celebrating the fertile deposits the river left in its wake, ensuring a better harvest for the upcoming year. He displayed his art of cascading water next to a fire eater, the light catching on the soaring streams as the village expressed great merriment over food and drink.

He turned seventeen when the flood emerged. The river's sides burst with the rapid downpour of rain, and the coursing waters swept away many in the village, some of them that knew him since birth. Demyx, who believed in that moment that the element he spent his childhood with would bend to his will, lost his parents after failing to reverse the current. His mother's hands slipped through his fingers. The water consumed him soon after, knocking his legs from under him. The initial chill of the rushing surge became warm as he floated beneath the surface. Tiny pockets of air slipped from his mouth, straying above him as he sank further. Debris lingered around him, but the water murky from the gathered grit did not sting his eyes. He felt very little as he stared up at the shimmering sun that pierced through the deep. The current calmed just for him as he slowly blinked, his last breath escaping him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When he opened his eyes, Demyx trembled. His damp clothes weighed him down as he stood, the chill from his long-sleeve shirt seeping into his skin. The space around him stretched on for ages, empty and silent. A thin horizontal beam of light appeared in the grey space, and he approached it on weak legs. He paused in front of it, but the strong brightness within prevented him from seeing into the other side. He stepped through, and found himself in a city of fountains. His breath shortened, and the panic grew worse as he felt no heartbeat within him. Demyx staggered towards a large castle in the center of the world, something there calling to him. He avoided the gushing wells set within the stone walls, not desiring to unite with water any longer.

He stopped short when he entered the castle courtyard. The large fountain set in the middle of a blue and green mosaic surged as he stepped onto the edge of the pattern inlaid with polished glass. The water lifted into a crescendo before splashing around the sides of the well. Demyx with eyes wide backed away as broad streams snaked towards him. The water trailed up his legs and caressed him, spilling into itself as it wrapped around his arms and torso. His chest tightened, and his eyes squeezed shut, more panic surmounting with an intense feeling soaking through his body. He released a sudden shaky gasp, and his eyes flew open. A thin line of water encircled his neck as he shot a hand out into the air. The stream around his arm pooled out in front of him into large bubbles, and he beheld them with a blank stare.

_This power isn't mine. I've never possessed it before. Why come to me now, after everything that's happened? Am I responsible for...?_

The bubbles propelled through the air, slamming into the side of the fountain. The water fell from him in a single quick rush and bled into the mosaic beneath his feet. Demyx glanced up to the castle, the call still there. He progressed to the gate, his body a heavy burden as a new feeling overtook the sense of fading dismay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon entering the castle, Demyx noticed how empty it was. He wandered the overlaying halls until he located a room with a large monitor. Someone found him here, sunken into a corner with his head in his hands and his face wet. Demyx later recalled faint pieces of that memory, with a redhead standing over him and speaking in a calm voice, offering him a chance to begin life anew someplace else. Surrounded by white walls, they put him into a black coat and offered a brief explanation of what he felt in that moment. Why he couldn't, or rather, _shouldn't_ feel anything in relation to emotions. They placed orders upon him, and he followed through, uncertain if he truly held any other purpose. They waggled their tongues, repeating to him as often as necessary of how their ultimate goal will reset their lives.

Days passed, and Demyx no longer walked around in a surprised daze. What they ingrained in him about lacking the emotional connection that others outside their realm possessed planted more doubt in him than ever, as his memories still stuck out sorely in his mind like thorns. They _had_ hearts. They must. No other reason could explain why he experienced this strong sense of pain. He remembered then that Axel found him in the belly of that castle, and mentioned his dilemma to him through casual conversation. Axel brushed it off as a sensation rooted within Demyx's memories, not something he felt in the actual moment. Demyx accepted this answer, but something pulled at his chest when his companion said this. The thought of his parents and the village soon resurfaced more from the dark recesses of his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Water obeyed him further after years passed, but he still continued to practice whenever the opportunity presented itself, sneaking off to the Hall of Empty Melodies when no one suspected. Each member of the organization cast him off as lazy, and only Axel suspected something else due to Demyx's single inquiry, but he let the matter alone. The time arrived when Demyx received orders to prove himself and his worth in the Organization. He complied, hoping the task offered a distraction from the stirrings in his mind and non-existent heart, though something within him echoed within that he was not prepared. However, it presented more of a challenge, one not anticipated in comparison to all the missions Saix issued to him in the past. Roxas had faded into the heart of his true persona, and so the Superior ordered Demyx to succeed where Axel failed.

Though provoked by the wielder's taunts, Demyx lost a fight he knew he'd never win, even as he summoned all his strength into the water jetting across the field, forming pillars to shield him from the cut of the keyblade. His element, one that first vowed to protect him at when he was but three years old, failed him yet again, now costing him his own life. _Why aid me just to let me go when I need you most? Why give me the option to control this if you'll just rip it away in the end?_ Demyx assumed partial blame for his demise. Maybe if he aimed more to bond with the magic that chose him as a child, but he knew he had done his best. Yet he still faded away in shock, collapsing to his knees among the ruins as his power vanished, his fingers tearing into his skull while he released a dying yell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For LawyerDonut. Thanks for acting as my beta reader!


	2. Within Darkness

Demyx's eyes shot open as a sharp inhale filled his lungs. He lay on his back in a bowl of sand, his black coat stuck to him like a second skin. Some people stood over him, faces pressed with concern. He sat up, and glanced at the houses nearby, a new village rebuilt over the old. He hauled himself up off the ground, a terrible headache ringing through his head. He put a hand to his brow, and brushed past the villagers, his legs weakening with every step. Demyx stumbled over the sand that shifted under his weight as he made his way to a newly erected spring in the middle of the town square. He cupped his hands and drank, the piercing-cold water leaping from his fingertips as it did when he was a child.

As the people who found him in the desert began to gather around him, staring at him as he quenched his thirst, Demyx departed and headed towards the river. It was more narrow than it had been years ago, before the surge of rain came. He choked back the resurfacing memories, cursing the force that brought him here after restoring him. He noticed something shimmering on the other side of the water, almost a mirage. He paused, but the water beckoned him forward, thin currents curling around him. Demyx took a deep, shaky breath as the river pulled him in, slipping over his limbs as it forced him to cross. Some of the people who followed him pointed and whispered to themselves as they watched.

He found a sudden dip in the river and his footing plummeted into the depths. He gasped, fear overtaking him further as he sank. The water caressed him, and lifted him back up. It urged him to press on, planting further doubt in Demyx's mind of how much this power truly was on his side. His boots slipped over the rocks that lined the water's edge as he stepped out, the river retreating behind him. He looked up, and the ripples still suspended in the air before his face, never fading as he stepped closer. When the blur was inches away from him, Demyx reached out, and his arm up to his elbow disappeared. He slipped through this particular-looking corridor, and a waterfall descended upon him, drenching his body from head to toe. He opened his eyes to only darkness. He felt a sudden rush as the water came back up, sending him down beneath the surface. He drifted, his eyes fluttering as he hung in the balance, though his newly-found heart panicked deep in his chest. He could not comprehend the change. For it to help him then punish him. A vicious cycle that only replayed the more Demyx fought and remembered.

He awoke on his stomach, his fingers digging into the black sand before he stood. He noticed an arching rock in the distance and moved towards it, progressing far away from the shore. He'd heard of this place. _The Dark Margin._

A faint voice echoed in his head, and he froze mid-step. It sounded like his mother. _Someone here needs your help_. 

Demyx closed his eyes. His response faded into his thoughts just a soft exhale escaped him. _How can I when no one can help me?_ A small tear rolled down his cheek.

The voice didn't respond. Clutching his chest, he continued on. He neared a mass of rocks, shimmering with the remaining spray of the dark waters. _Why me?_ he thought as he lowered himself into the sand and leaned back. _Who can I possibly-?_

He started when he regarded a figure floating face down in the dark sea. He darted towards the water, but hesitated at the edge, uncertain if his power would benefit or harm him in this instance. His heart warned him as well not to step into the abyss. Something dwelled there that no ability even nature possessed could vanquish. Demyx swallowed, facing the dread head-on when the woman showed little signs of movement, her clothes hovering around her on the surface like dead leaves. Taking a deep breath, he stirred the depths before him. Ripples carried out towards her. He squeezed his eyes shut and willed the water to send her drifting ashore. It resisted at first, then a wave gathered around his feet, foam lapping over his boots. He shuddered as it glided up to his neck, and his breath grew short as the chill threatened him into shock. The ocean quavered, carrying the woman ashore. Just as her body slid onto the beach and the water around him ebbed with the tide, Demyx blackened out on his side. 


End file.
